KR102465823B1 - A vending machine that can check the material of a drink in real time - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vending machine capable of confirming beverage ingredients in real-time, which can sell beverages when a beverage is selected by paying with cash or a card with an unmanned automatic machine. The vending machine is equipped with beverage materials inside so that the beverage selected by the purchaser is manufactured and supplied, and is equipped with a beverage selection button and beverage outlet on the outside. a losing vending machine body; a material storage unit installed in the upper part of the vending machine body and made of an opaque material and storing beverage materials inside the unit material container; a light irradiation unit installed at the rear of the unit material container in the vending machine body and irradiating light toward the front of the material storage unit; and a sensing unit disposed in front of the unit material container in the vending machine body and installed on the door, and through which the light irradiated from the light irradiation unit is transmitted and recognized by the material storage unit; and a communication unit that transmits transmission information for the light recognized by the sensing unit to the manager terminal, including, wherein the communication unit transmits transmission information to the user terminal so that the seller can check the amount of beverage material stored in the material storage unit in real time do it with

Description

A vending machine that can check the material of a drink in real time {A vending machine that can check the material of a drink in real time}

The present invention relates to a vending machine capable of confirming beverage ingredients in real-time, which can sell beverages when a beverage is selected by paying with cash or a card using an unmanned automatic machine.

A vending machine (hereinafter abbreviated as 'vending machine') is a device that inserts money or inserts a card, selects a desired product, and purchases beverages, food, cigarettes, tickets, newspapers, magazines, stamps, socks, and toilet paper. It can sell various products such as , sanitary products, etc., and functions and plays a role as an unmanned store that does not require manpower to sell products other than the process of arranging the products inside the vending machine.

In a conventional vending machine, the above products are displayed inside the vending machine, and when the seller selects a product to be purchased after inserting banknotes or coins first, the product and change are discharged. It includes an input amount confirmation means for confirming, a coin storage means for storing coins used as change, and a change discharge means for discharging them.

Because conventional vending machines do not know until they visit to replenish the product, if the product is not in stock before the seller replenishes the product, the buyer cannot purchase the desired product and the seller cannot sell the product, resulting in a decrease in sales revenue. there was In addition, there was inconvenience that the seller had to check the inside of the vending machine from time to time, and there was a hassle that the seller had to spend extra time to visit.

To solve this problem, it detects the stock amount of products stored in the Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2136338 'vending machine equipped with automatic ordering function according to product inventory' in real time, and automatically places an order to the seller according to the detected stock amount A transmission technique has been disclosed. However, the vending machine can confirm the quantity of finished products such as cans or bottles, and there is a problem in that the quantity of materials in powder form or liquid form cannot be confirmed.

In addition, in the case of a vending machine that manufactures beverages with beverage materials in powder or liquid form, the seller frequently refills them or frequently opens and closes the vending machine door, regardless of the amount of beverage materials stored in the vending machine. There was a problem in that beverage materials were contaminated or power was wasted due to contact.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2136338

In order to solve the above problems, according to the transmission information of the light transmitted to the material storage unit in the vending machine, the amount of stored beverage materials can be checked in real time through the manager terminal, An object of the present invention is to provide a vending machine capable of confirming beverage materials in real time, which can be prepared in advance. It is not limited to the technical problem as described above, and another technical problem may be derived from the following description.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a vending machine capable of confirming beverage materials in real time is provided with beverage materials inside so that a beverage selected by a purchaser is manufactured and supplied, and a beverage selection button and beverage outlet are provided on the outside. a vending machine main body having an installation space formed therein and having a door to be opened and closed; a material storage unit installed in the upper part of the vending machine body and made of an opaque material to store beverage materials in the unit material container; a light irradiator installed at the rear of the unit material container in the vending machine body and irradiating light toward the front of the material storage unit; and a sensing unit disposed in front of the unit material container in the vending machine body and installed on the door, the light irradiated from the light irradiation unit being transmitted through the material storage unit to be recognized. and a communication unit for transmitting the transmission information for the light recognized by the sensing unit to the manager terminal, wherein the communication unit transmits the transmission information to the manager terminal so that the seller determines the amount of beverage material stored in the material storage unit It is characterized in that it can be checked in real time.

Further comprising; a control unit for determining whether beverage material filling is necessary by detecting the penetration information and comparing it with a set value, generating a beverage material filling signal when determining whether beverage material filling is required in the control unit and transmitting it to the manager terminal through the communication unit characterized in that

In addition, the control unit, a light transmission detection unit for real-time detection of the light transmission y-coordinate value for the light recognized by the sensing unit, the light transmission y-coordinate value and the stored set y-coordinate value to compare and determine the beverage material filling determination unit; Including, when the light transmission y-coordinate value is less than the set y-coordinate value, characterized in that the control so as to transmit a beverage material charging notification sound to the manager terminal by the communication unit.

In addition, the control unit, a light transmittance detection unit for real-time detection of the light transmittance for the light recognized by the sensing unit; When the transmittance exceeds the set transmittance, a control unit for controlling to transmit a beverage material filling notification sound to the manager terminal by the communication unit; characterized in that it further comprises.

In addition, the control unit includes a light transmission detection unit that collects the light transmission image of the material storage unit photographed from the sensing unit, and controls to transmit the light transmission image to the manager terminal at a set time set by the seller characterized in that

In addition, a plurality of the unit material barrels are arranged adjacent to each other to separate and store beverage materials, and the light irradiation unit is individually irradiated to the plurality of unit material barrels, and each light transmitted to the unit material barrel is recognized by the sensing unit at the same time. And, the control unit, the light transmission x-coordinate value is set for each unit material container in the beverage material filling judging unit, and comparing the light transmission y-coordinate value with the set y-coordinate value according to the light transmission x-coordinate value It is characterized in that it is determined in real time whether or not the filling is required for each beverage material.

According to the vending machine that can confirm real-time beverage materials according to an embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration, there are the following effects.

The amount of beverage ingredients stored in the manager terminal can be grasped in real time by the transmission information of the light transmitted to the ingredient storage unit in the vending machine. Convenience is improved and sales volume decline due to lack of beverage materials can be prevented, so that there is no economic loss.

In addition, beverage materials that are variously provided in the vending machine according to the type of beverage are stored separately in a plurality of unit material containers, and the light irradiation unit is irradiated to the plurality of unit material containers. In addition, since the time of exhaustion for each beverage material is different, it is possible to reduce unnecessary expenses by identifying and equipping only the beverage material that needs to be filled in advance, and it is possible to identify the preferred beverage of the purchaser.

In addition, the time when the amount of beverage material provided in the vending machine reaches the minimum value is set as the filling time of beverage material, and the seller receives a request for filling beverage material to the manager terminal and performs the beverage material filling operation in the material storage unit. The freshness of the stored beverage material can be maintained and provided to the purchaser, and the number of unnecessary opening and closing operations of the vending machine door can be reduced, thereby reducing power consumption.

In addition, depending on the seller's preference, you can select a beverage material filling notification sound or a beverage material filling image with the manager terminal and receive it when it is determined that the beverage material needs to be filled. By providing recognition while performing the work, it helps the seller to perform other tasks besides the vending company.

1 is a front view of a vending machine that can confirm real-time beverage materials according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an internal view of a vending machine capable of real-time confirmation of beverage materials according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a block diagram illustrating a beverage material filling determination process of a vending machine capable of real-time beverage material confirmation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a block diagram showing the filling determination process for each beverage material according to the light transmission x-coordinate value in the beverage material filling determination unit of FIG.
Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the determination condition of the beverage material filling decision unit of Figure 3.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains can easily implement them. The present invention may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the structure or method described herein.

An embodiment of the present invention relates to a vending machine capable of checking the amount of beverage ingredients stored in a material storage unit in the beverage vending machine in real time. 1 is a front view of a vending machine that can check real-time beverage materials according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an internal view of a vending machine that can check real-time beverage materials according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, the vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention opens the door of the conventional vending machine, separates the material storage unit, and has to visually check the amount of stored beverage material each time, unlike the vending machine 10 and wireless By receiving the light transmission information to the manager terminal 20 connected to the is a means Prior to a detailed description of the configuration of the vending machine 10 , an overall configuration of a general vending machine will be described.

In general, in the vending machine 10, cash or a card is inserted by the purchaser and payment is made, and then, according to the beverage selected from the beverage selection button 110, beverage ingredients are mixed with water in the cup supplied from the cup supply port 131. It is manufactured and has a structure in which the finished beverage is supplied to the purchaser through the beverage outlet 120 . And the vending machine 10 is equipped with a door 101 to open and close the inside, so that the seller can open the door 101 to charge consumables such as beverage materials and cups stored inside the vending machine or to maintain other components.

In detail, the vending machine 10 of the present invention has an installation space so that other components can be installed therein so that the seller can check the amount of beverage material stored therein in real time with the manager terminal 20 unlike the conventional vending machine 10 . The vending machine main body 100, which opens and closes with a door, a material storage unit 200 in which beverage materials such as coffee, sugar, cream, cocoa, and barley are separated and stored, a light irradiation unit 300 that irradiates light to the material storage unit, materials It may include a sensing unit 400 for detecting the light passing through the storage unit, a communication unit 500 for wirelessly connecting the vending machine and the manager terminal to transmit/receive, and a control unit 600 for controlling the operation of the vending machine.

The vending machine main body 100 is a means for providing an installation space of components for performing an operation inside the vending machine body 100 so that an operation of manufacturing a beverage and providing the beverage to the purchaser is performed when the purchaser pays the cost. The vending machine main body 100 is made of a square frame, the front is opened, and the door 101 is provided so that an installation space is formed therein so that it can be opened and closed. At this time, the door 101 has a display unit formed on the front side of an outsider so that the buyer can check the type of beverage sold, and a beverage that is formed so that a selection signal is input by determining the selected beverage by a touch of the display unit or separately configured input means. A selection button 110, a payment unit formed so that the cost is paid, and the beverage outlet 120 through which the manufactured beverage is discharged are disposed. In addition, the vending machine main body 100 may have a material storage unit 200 , a light irradiation unit 300 , a sensing unit 400 , a communication unit 500 , and a control unit 600 disposed therein.

First, the material storage unit 200 is a case in which beverage materials are stored therein, and after the type of beverage is selected by the purchaser, the beverage material is a means for discharging into the inside of the cup through the outlet at the bottom. The material storage unit 200 is a plurality of unit material barrels 210 may be arranged side by side in a line, each of the unit material barrel 210 is stored separately for each type of beverage beverage material. In particular, the material storage unit 200 may be made of opaque plastic or synthetic resin, and it is preferable to be equipped with a case having transparency that can be recognized by the sensing unit 400 to be described later through the light passing through. Here, the beverage material refers to materials in powder or liquid form for manufacturing each beverage.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the material storage unit 200 may be provided with each unit material container 210 disposed in the x-axis direction, and the seller fills the inside of the unit material container 210 with beverage materials or To enable cleaning, the unit material cylinder 210 may be separately and detachably disposed. In this case, the material storage unit 200 is disposed at a height so that the seller can easily separate it from the vending machine main body 100 to improve work convenience. In addition, the material storage unit 200 may be sealed so that foreign substances are not introduced or contaminated from the outside when the door 101 is opened.

The light irradiation unit 300 is a means for irradiating light to the material storage unit 200 so that the amount of the beverage material can be grasped by the transmission information of the light. Here, the light irradiation unit 300 is installed at the rear of the material storage unit 200 in the vending machine main body 100 to irradiate light toward the front of the material storage unit 200 , and the light source controls the material storage unit 200 . It may be provided as an LED light emitting diode to pass through and be recognized by the sensing unit 400 .

At this time, the light irradiation unit 300 can determine the amount of beverage material by dividing the point where the light is transmitted to the material storage unit (200). That is, the light irradiation unit 300 does not transmit the light to the area filled with the beverage material, the light is transmitted to the area where the beverage material is not filled, the light transmission point can be distinguished.

In particular, by irradiating light to the material storage unit 200 by the light irradiation unit 300, it is possible to determine whether the beverage material is filled according to the transmission position or light transmittance of the transmitted light. In addition, the light irradiator 300 may be irradiated to the unit material container 210 stored for each beverage material, respectively, it may be possible to determine whether to charge individually for each unit material container (210). Such a light irradiating unit 300 has the advantage that the seller does not have to frequently open and close the door 101 of the vending machine 10 by allowing a simple light irradiation method to grasp the amount of beverage material. In addition, the light irradiation unit 300 is additionally installed if the material storage unit 200 installed in the existing vending machine is a material that transmits light, so that the seller can easily identify it with the naked eye without separating it from the vending machine body 100 . .

The sensing unit 400 is a means for photographing the light transmitted through the material storage unit 200 to detect the light transmission position or light transmittance, and transmits the detected light transmitted image to the control unit 600 . The sensing unit 400 is disposed in front of the material storage unit 200 in the vending machine body 100 and installed on the door 101 , and the light irradiated from the light irradiation unit 300 is transmitted through the material storage unit 200 . is recognized This sensing unit 400 may be provided as an infrared camera or an image-taking camera capable of detecting infrared rays, and the entire surface of the material storage unit 200 is photographed at once or the light irradiated to each unit material container 210 . can be photographed individually.

The communication unit 500 is a means for wirelessly connecting the vending machine 10 and the manager terminal 20 to transmit transmission information and a signal for filling the beverage material to the manager. The communication unit 500 includes the power on/off state of the vending machine 10 collected from the vending machine 10, the on/off state of the light irradiator 300, the beverage sales status, and the light transmission image. Information, beverage material charging signal, etc. can be transmitted to the manager terminal (20). In addition, the communication unit 500 is stored so that information can be transmitted to other administrators set in addition to the seller, so that a signal can be transmitted to the administrator closest to the vending machine 10 , and there is an advantage that anyone can easily manage the vending machine.

In addition, the communication unit 500 connects wirelessly through the manager terminal 20 to remotely control the power on/off of the light irradiation unit 300 , and the vending machine 10 and the manager terminal 20 . When the communication connection signal is cut off, the light irradiator 300 can be switched to a power-off state after a certain period of time to minimize power consumption. In addition, the communication unit 500 allows remote access to the vending machine 10 with the manager terminal 20 so that the manager can check the current situation video or the current situation image of the material storage unit 200 in real time at any time at any time. can

3 is a block diagram showing a beverage material filling determination process of a vending machine capable of real-time beverage material confirmation according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a beverage material according to the light transmission x coordinate value in the beverage material filling determination unit of FIG. It is a block diagram showing the filling determination process, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the determination conditions of the beverage material filling determination unit of FIG.

3 to 5 , the control unit 600 is a means for analyzing the light recognized by the sensing unit 400 to detect transmission information and to determine whether the beverage material needs to be filled by comparing it with a set value. In addition, the control unit 600 allows the seller to open the door 101 to separate the material storage unit 200 from the vending machine main body 100 according to whether or not the beverage material needs to be filled, so that the beverage material can be filled.

In detail, the control unit 600 is a light transmittance detection unit 610 for detecting the light transmittance coordinates and light transmittance, which is the light transmittance information recognized by the sensing unit 400, and a beverage material filling determination unit to determine whether the beverage material needs to be filled. 620 may be included.

The light transmission detection unit 610 detects the light transmission y-coordinate value 612 for the light recognized by the sensing unit 400 based on the y-axis direction of the material storage unit 200 shown in FIG. 2 or the light transmittance ( 613) can be detected. The light transmission y-coordinate value 612 represents the lower limit of the light transmitted through the material storage unit 200, and coincides with the height (upper limit) of the stored beverage material. And the light transmittance 613 can estimate the area of the stored beverage material by measuring the range of light transmitted to the material storage unit (200). Here, the light transmittance detection unit 610 may use the light transmittance y-coordinate value 612 or light transmittance 613 as a comparison value to determine whether the beverage material needs to be filled. In addition, the light transmission detection unit 610 can be used as a comparison value for primarily determining the light transmission y-coordinate value 612 in order to clearly determine whether the filling of the beverage material is necessary, and the light transmission rate 613 is 2 It can be used as a comparative value for secondary judgment and can be accurately judged.

At this time, the light transmission detection unit 610 transmits the detected light transmission y-coordinate value 612 and the light transmittance 613 to the beverage material filling determination unit 620 to fill the beverage material reference setting y-coordinate value (621) and the set transmittance 622 can be compared. In addition, the light transmission detection unit 610 may collect the light transmission image 614 of the material storage unit 200 photographed from the sensing unit 400, and the light transmission image 614 at a set time set by the administrator. It can be controlled to transmit to the manager terminal 20 .

The beverage material filling determination unit 620 compares and determines the set y-coordinate value 621 received from the light transmission detection unit 610 and the stored set y-coordinate value 621, or the light transmittance received from the light transmission detection unit 610 (613) and the stored light transmittance (613) can be determined by comparison. At this time, the beverage material filling determination unit 620 is the light transmittance y-coordinate value 612 is less than the set y-coordinate value 621, or the light transmittance 613 is the set transmittance 622 When the communication unit 500 exceeds the manager terminal It can be controlled so that the beverage material filling notification sound 640 or the beverage material filling image 650 is transmitted to (20). This, beverage material filling determination unit 620 may determine the filling time of the beverage material by the seller by setting the minimum height of the amount of beverage material stored in the material storage unit 200. In addition, the beverage material charging determination unit 620 transmits the beverage material charging signal 630 to the communication unit 500 so that the seller can recognize the charging time, and the beverage material charging notification sound 640 or By sending the beverage material filling image 650, the seller can perform the operation of filling the beverage material.

In addition, the beverage material filling determination unit 620 sets the y-coordinate value 621 and the stored setting y-coordinate value 621 received from the light transmission detection unit 610 in order to clearly determine whether the filling of the beverage material is required. After secondary comparison and determination, the light transmittance 613 received from the light transmittance detection unit 610 and the stored light transmittance 613 are secondarily compared and determined, and the beverage material filling notification sound 640 operation signal to the manager terminal 20 can pass Such beverage material filling determination unit 620 can improve the accuracy of determining the amount of beverage material stored in the material storage unit 200, and by increasing the reliability of the product, it is possible to increase the satisfaction of the seller as a manager.

Beverage material filling determination unit 620 may set the light transmission x-coordinate value 611 for each beverage material in each unit material container 210, respectively, and the light transmission y-coordinate according to the light transmission x-coordinate value 611 By comparing the value 612 and the set y-coordinate value 621, it is possible to determine in real time whether the filling is required for each beverage material. In addition, according to the seller's preference, the manager terminal 20 can select and set the beverage material filling notification sound 640 or the beverage material filling image 650 to receive when the beverage material filling is necessary, and the seller can receive the beverage material filling information by the manager terminal 20 ), which makes it difficult to check the light transmission information in real time or to recognize it while performing other tasks, helping the seller to perform other tasks in addition to the vending company.

The amount of beverage material stored in the manager terminal 20 can be grasped in real time by the transmission information of the light transmitted to the material storage unit 200 in the vending machine 10, so that the seller can check the beverage material provided in the vending machine 10 Since it is not necessary to frequently perform the filling operation of beverage materials, the convenience of the seller is improved, and the decrease in sales volume due to shortage of beverage materials can be prevented, so that economic loss does not occur.

In addition, beverage materials that are variously provided in the vending machine according to the type of beverage are stored separately in a plurality of unit material containers 210 , and as the light irradiator 300 is irradiated to the plurality of unit material containers 210 , it is transmitted as information about light. The seller can check the individual amount of each beverage material, and since the time of exhaustion for each beverage material is different, it is possible to reduce unnecessary expenses by identifying and stocking only the beverage material that needs to be filled in advance, and it is possible to identify the preferred beverage of the purchaser. .

In addition, by setting the time when the amount of beverage material provided in the vending machine 10 reaches the minimum value as the filling time of the beverage material, the manager terminal 20 receives a request for filling the beverage material, and the seller performs the beverage material filling operation. By doing so, the freshness of the beverage material stored in the material storage unit 200 can be maintained and provided to the purchaser, and the number of unnecessary opening and closing operations of the vending machine door 101 can be reduced, thereby reducing power consumption.

So far, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been mainly looked at. Those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that the present invention may be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments are to be considered in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The scope of the present invention is indicated in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope equivalent thereto should be construed as being included in the present invention.

10: vending machine
20: administrator terminal
100: vending machine body
101: door
110: drink selection button
120: beverage outlet
130: cup storage unit
131: cup supply port
200: material storage unit
210: unit material container
220: material outlet
300: light irradiation unit
400: sensing unit
500: communication department
600: control unit
610: light transmission detection unit
611: light transmission x-coordinate value
612: light transmission y-coordinate value
613: light transmittance
614: light transmission image
620: beverage material filling determination unit
621: Set y-coordinate value
622: set transmittance
630: drink material charging signal
640: Beverage material filling notification sound
650: Beverage material filling image

Claims (6)

In the vending machine, the beverage material is provided inside so that the beverage selected by the purchaser is manufactured and supplied, and the beverage selection button and beverage outlet are provided on the outside, the vending machine comprising:
a vending machine main body having an installation space formed inside the vending machine and equipped with a door so as to be able to open and close;
a material storage unit installed on the upper portion of the vending machine body and made of an opaque or transparent material, in which a plurality of unit material containers in which various beverage materials are separately stored are arranged in a line;
a light irradiator installed at the rear of the unit material cylinder in the vending machine body and individually irradiating light to the plurality of unit material cylinders;
a sensing unit disposed in front of the unit material cylinder in the vending machine body and installed on the door, wherein each light emitted from the light irradiation unit and transmitted through the plurality of unit material cylinders is recognized at the same time;
a communication unit for transmitting transmission information on the light recognized by the sensing unit to the manager terminal; and
A control unit that detects the transmission information and compares it with a set value to determine whether or not beverage material filling is required, and generates a beverage material filling signal when determining the beverage material filling need and transmits it to the manager terminal through the communication unit;
The communication unit transmits the transmission information to the manager terminal so that the seller can check the amount of beverage material stored in the material storage unit in real time,
The control unit is
A light transmittance detector for real-time detection of the light transmittance y-coordinate value and light transmittance for the light recognized by the sensing unit, and the light transmittance y-coordinate value and the stored set y-coordinate value are compared and determined, and the light transmittance and the stored set transmittance are Comprising a beverage material filling judgment unit for comparison judgment,
The light transmission x-coordinate value is respectively set for each unit material container in the beverage material filling determination unit, and the light transmission y-coordinate value is compared with the set y-coordinate value according to the light transmission x-coordinate value to determine whether filling for each beverage material is required A vending machine that can check beverage ingredients in real time, characterized in that it is determined in real time.
delete delete The method of claim 1,
The control unit is
A vending machine capable of real-time beverage material confirmation, characterized in that when the light transmittance exceeds a set transmittance, the communication unit controls to transmit a beverage material filling notification sound to the manager terminal.
The method of claim 1,
The control unit is
Includes; a light transmission detection unit for collecting the light transmission image of the material storage unit photographed from the sensing unit;
The communication unit is a vending machine capable of real-time beverage material confirmation, characterized in that the control unit to transmit the light transmission image to the manager terminal at a set time set by the seller. delete

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